Who hasn’t bought a brand new shiny computer and then comes up against the issue of having to transfer all of those files from the old machine to the new one? Many times people will make this process much more difficult than it needs to be, they spend hours needlessly copying files across folder by folder or tweaking the desktop so it looks and feels exactly the way it used to. Then they go through the process of adding all of their shortcuts to the menus. Well there’s a better way!
Windows Easy Transfer, this nifty often overlooked pre-installed program will help you to migrate files and settings including photos, contacts and favorites from your old Windows XP or Vista machine to your brand new Windows 7 PC and it will do this so everything is just the same as it was on the old PC, no kidding. If you have Windows Vista or XP you will have to download and install it first but it’s free and easy to do. So let’s get into how to do this step by step.
1 – Download & install
To start transferring files from your Windows XP computer to your new Windows 7 PC you’ll need to first download and install Easy Transfer from http://bit.ly/Reg4st. Click ‘Download 32 bit’. If you think your computer is 64 bit which is unlikely in older PC’s, click ‘is my old PC running 32 bit or 64 bit Windows?’ to find out.
2 – Choose how to Transfer
Once you’ve opened Windows Easy Transfer, click on the ‘Next’ button in the box that opens. The following screen asks you how you want to transfer items to your new computer. If you have an easy Transfer cable, then choose this option, if not, opt to use either an external hard disk or USB flash drive or transfer via a network.
3 – Which PC?
The next message you will see will ask you ‘Which computer are you using now?’ Windows now will take a really good look through this hard drive to see what sort of items you can transfer to you new Windows PC. If for some reason you decide at the last minute how you want to transfer your old files, click the back arrow that you will see in the top left hand corner.
4 – Select What to Transfer
If you’re OK with what Windows has found to transfer from the old computer, click ‘Next. Windows Easy Transfer will then tell you how large the files are that you will be transferring in the bottom right-hand corner. Now is the time to see if you have enough space on your new PC or the external drive if that is where you are transferring to.
5 – Select Files
If for some reason you want to customize which files or settings Windows transfers, click on ‘Customize’ underneath your computer’s name and make sure only the folders you want to copy are selected. If you want to go even deeper and further customize what you transfer, navigate to ‘Customize > Advanced and select more folders and then click ‘Save’.
6 – Protect and Save
Now all of your files and settings are saved in one file which you can password protect which is a good idea to prevent anyone from tampering with it before it’s moved. Next choose where to save the file to, your new PC or an external drive. Now this part can take a while depending on the size of the file you’re saving so take it easy, get a cup of coffee and kick back and relax.
7 – Transfer It
Once your file is saved click ‘Next’, followed by ‘Next’ again then ‘Close’. Now you can turn on your new computer plug in the external hard drive you copied the Windows Easy Transfer file to, browse to it and double-click it. Enter the password when prompted and click ‘Transfer’ on the next screen. Your old items will now be transferred to your new PC.
8 – Moving Files
You’ve done it; you now have a new Windows 7 PC with all of your old files from your Windows XP or Vista files. All you have to do now is reinstall any old programs you want. Click ‘See a list of programs you might want to install’ for a report of which apps you should add, based on what you were using on your old computer.
This task should be able to be performed by just about anyone and take about an hour to an hour and a half. So the next time you buy a new machine you won’t have to bring it to a PC store and be charged for something you can do right at home.
